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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. current — of water
  3. clip — for paper
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a ring
  6. squash — to crush
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — to cut
  9. face — part of the head
  10. current — electric
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. face — to point toward
  13. squash — the sport
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pop — soda
  17. craft — a skill
  18. pop — to visit
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. pop — music
  21. chest — of your body
  22. craft — boats
  23. chest — a box
  24. face — to confront

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com